1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to fiber optics and, in particular, to an improved system and apparatus for a fiber optic connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, all military fighter aircraft that use fiber optics use physical contact butt connection type connectors (i.e., D38999 with Mil-T-29504 terminii). These connectors are the same style used for electrical connectors, only with much tighter tolerances, and comprise various plug and receptacle connections. For fiber optic applications, the socket terminii are typically spring-loaded and recessed in an alignment sleeve to mate with respective pins on a receptacle. The sockets are usually placed in a plug on a flexible harness to make their difficult-to-clean recessed end faces easier to access during cleaning operations. The fixed, bulkhead-mounted receptacles usually contain the easier-to-clean termination pins because they are typically more difficult to access during cleaning operations.
One type of design incorporates an “expanded beam” connector that requires the plug and receptacle style. A significant benefit of expanded beam connectors is that with a larger beam size, dirt particles block a smaller percentage of the light and therefore have lesser impact on system performance. However, all current expanded beam connectors use ball lenses in front of the fibers. The fiber must be placed at a very precise distance from the ball lens to allow the light to expand to a fixed diameter before the ball lens collimates the beam. The receiving fiber also requires a ball lens to receive the collimated light and re-focus it back into the receiving fiber. One problem with this design is that the fibers must be exactly the same distances from the ball lenses, and this requirement must be precisely maintained regardless of the environmental conditions in which operation is required. Unfortunately, the distances comprise air gaps that can become contaminated with pollutants, and the distances expand and contract with temperature. Consequently, the production of these connections is very difficult and requires very specialized equipment.
In addition, the use of multiple plug and receptacle connections creates numerous mating-related problems, and these connections must be carefully cleaned for optimum performance. Cleaning procedures are tedious and lengthy processes that sometimes get ignored, which causes issues at inspection. In addition, the end faces are occasionally damaged, which requires the cables to be removed and replaced. Expanded beam connectors also have trouble being qualified due to problems holding the alignment of the fiber to the ball lenses, and they are larger and heavier than conventional assemblies. Thus, an improved solution that addresses and overcomes these problems would be desirable.